Could this be anything other than Dinos?

[ScottB]

@ScottB and @taricha do you have an idea of how long it would take for fresh water to kill dino cysts? I want to add water to another tank, but I have been using my containers with the tank that has dinos and I let some of the water sit in the container for a couple of days.

Don't sweat this. Don't think of dinos as a "pest" that can be quarantined or killed off forever. Some amount of them are always going to be present in a diverse microbiome. They are just outcompeted by hundreds over other specie of bacteria, algae, coralline, films, etc.

I could dump a bucket of live dinos in my systems and you would never know it visually. They only thrive when we starve (or kill with Chemiclean) the other surface competitors. I think of dinos as scavengers, waiting for us to scorch the earth so they can multiply by consuming the dead or weakened microscopic competition.

 

[Just John]

Don't sweat this. Don't think of dinos as a "pest" that can be quarantined or killed off forever. Some amount of them are always going to be present in a diverse microbiome. They are just outcompeted by hundreds over other specie of bacteria, algae, coralline, films, etc.

I could dump a bucket of live dinos in my systems and you would never know it visually. They only thrive when we starve (or kill with Chemiclean) the other surface competitors. I think of dinos as scavengers, waiting for us to scorch the earth so they can multiply by consuming the dead or weakened microscopic competition.

I am hoping to go to the FL Frag Swap this weekend. Last year there were some fabulous deals. I am setting this unused / empty tank up to hold any new corals temporarily until the other one is free of dinos. So, there won't be much in there for competition right now. That's why I am trying to be careful. I will add some bottled bacteria and Microbacter 7 and I suppose I could buy a bit of live rock if it will help. Hopefully they won't be in there for long.

 

[ScottB]

I am hoping to go to the FL Frag Swap this weekend. Last year there were some fabulous deals. I am setting this unused / empty tank up to hold any new corals temporarily until the other one is free of dinos. So, there won't be much in there for competition right now. That's why I am trying to be careful. I will add some bottled bacteria and Microbacter 7 and I suppose I could buy a bit of live rock if it will help. Hopefully they won't be in there for long.

I just love frag swaps. Have fun. Since Covdi they have been pretty rare in these parts. Next one is early March and I will be there for sure.

Not sure I would consider a sterile new tank more hospitable than a tank with some dinos. Dinos are a symptom of a troubled biome, not a cause of one. Keep basic elements in line and available nutrients and you should be okay.

Acros in a "new" system get real sketchy after the first couple weeks.

 

[Just John]

I just love frag swaps. Have fun. Since Covdi they have been pretty rare in these parts. Next one is early March and I will be there for sure.

Not sure I would consider a sterile new tank more hospitable than a tank with some dinos. Dinos are a symptom of a troubled biome, not a cause of one. Keep basic elements in line and available nutrients and you should be okay.

Acros in a "new" system get real sketchy after the first couple weeks.

I was planning on just softies and lps, but the reason I was thinking about it is that these seem really toxic. Yesterday I decided that I would just have to deal with a lot of losses. Things looked horrible. A little improvement today, but some of my ricordea FL have turned white and most zoas are a mess, one of my two lps was on it's way out, but I think it's going to make it. Put a ton of floss in there and it looks like it has been settling on that because there is not much on the glass or sand. Maybe it will be all good by this weekend.